New York City – the 9/11 Memorial Museum

Ladder Company 3 Engine, buried in the collapse. All 11 firefighters with it died when the towers collapsed.

This morning I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum. You can’t really say that a visit to a place like this is ever going to be “good” or “enjoyable”. However, it was memorable and moving, and I imagine that was the designers’ intention.

The museum consists of two parts, housed in a structure that occupies where the deep basements of WTC were. The first is a collection of artefacts that have survived from that day – parts of the buildings themselves; parts of the aircraft; and objects left by “first responders” that were enveloped by the debris when the towers collapsed. The second part is an almost minute-by-minute account of the actual attacks, involving images, video, sound, written material, and many, many small objects. I say “attacks” because the museum covers the attack on the Pentagon, the loss of Flight 93, and the earlier (1993) truck bombing at the WTC.

If you’re ever in NYC, a visit to this museum is a worthwhile experience. Here’s a link.